Thousands of red chairs are standing empty along Sarajevo’s main avenue on Friday as Bosnia and Herzegovina commemorates the 20th anniversary since the start of the country’s war. A classical orchestra will play a concert for the 11,541 empty seats, one for each civilian killed during a near-four-year siege of the city by Bosnian Serb forces, which became a symbol of the 1992-1995 conflict.
(via from-berlin-to-sarajevo)
Bosnia - Part 1
This is Sarajevo, Bosnia Charlie … as I saw it in 2001 and 2002.
When I lived there, the city was completely war torn. Buildings were demolished, the streets and houses were pot-marked from the years of bombing, and the country faced significant economic and political challenges. Most people thought it was the worst assignment I could have ever received. In fact, they couldn’t have been more wrong.
Living in Sarajevo was one of the greatest times of my life. I made great friends, learned the history and culture, and spoke the language well enough to even occasionally pass for a local. Cevapi was my favorite meal, and “Yesta mai brate,” (“What’s up brother?) rolled off my tongue like a true Sarajevan.
You see, I came into Bosnia free of bias, due entirely to my ignorance. I was genuinely interested in getting to know both the country and the people, and as a result I was rewarded with the most genuine experiences and relationships of my life.
I’ve been to over 30 countries since, Charlie, and I never experienced a place like Sarajevo again. Perhaps it is because Sarajevo really is the greatest place on Earth, but it is more likely that I was just willing to take in everything without preconceptions.
It is a magnificent thing to be young and naive. While you are prone to make a lot of mistakes, you are also incredibly trusting and accepting.
I don’t know if that’s a better recipe for living life than the (sometimes skeptical) one I am living now, but I do know this: There should be at least one time in your life that you completely absorb an experience like the one I had in Sarajevo, Charlie. Just go somewhere new and take in everything without passing judgement. Be interested, be sociable, explore.
Hopefully you too will find your Sarajevo, and will be a better man for having found it.
Beautiful story, but you kinda misspelled that, it is “sta ima brate” :)
Actually,you can say “šta mai” too. Our way of popular “street language” :)
(via saputnik)
